All American Hell Drivers Car Crashing into Wrecks in Auto Thrill Show, 1948

01

Artifact Overview

"Lucky" Lee Lott (1915-2000) performed circus acrobatics and high dives before he formed the Hell Drivers in 1935. Lott's team of stunt drivers toured North and South America jumping, flipping, or otherwise destroying thousands of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Lott retired in 1955, keeping a promise to his mother that he would quit the risky business when he turned 40.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

08 August 1948

Creator Notes

Photographed by John T. Hedgepeth

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

2009.32.7.1

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Blair Nelson

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 7.938 in
Width: 10.125 in

Inscriptions

Ink stamp on back: PHOTO CREDIT / JOHN T. HEDGEPETH, JR. / PHOEBUS, VIRGINIA / AUG 8 1948 Ink stamp on back: ORANGE BLOSSOM GAZETTE 7712 HOOSIER PLACE / ORLANDO, FL 32807 [Handwritten in ink: 10-15.90 / W. Robinson Handwritten in ink: To Blair Nelson / Pinellas Park, Fla.